A coroner has raised concerns over pedestrian crossings after a woman died after being hit by a bus as she crossed a road.

Julia Luxmore Peto, 27, was crossing Deptford Broadway in south-east London when she was hit by a bus going through a green traffic light.

A coroner said there was a possibility she was confused by a green light on the other side of the road.

He has written to the government to warn it over "two-stage crossings".

A Department for Transport (DfT) spokesman said it was "updating our planning guidance to help councils ensure pedestrian crossings are clear and not misleading".

Christopher Williams, assistant coroner for Inner London South, wrote in a prevention of future deaths report that Ms Peto had been crossing the three-lane eastbound carriageway at about 16:53 BST on 16 September.

The first two lanes had stopped at a red light, but the third filter lane - separated from the first two by a pedestrian island - was showing green.

CCTV footage from the bus showed that Ms Peto was looking left when she stepped out in front of the bus coming from her right and was hit. She died in hospital the following day.

Image copyrightGoogleImage caption
Ms Peto was crossing Deptford Broadway when she was hit

Mr Williams said that at the time of her crossing the eastbound side, a green pedestrian light was displayed on the westbound carriageway.

He concluded she died as the result of a road traffic accident but said he remained "concerned that there is a strong possibility" she was confused by the far light but could not say for sure on the balance of probabilities.

Transport for London (TfL) has since modified the lights to reduce the risk of "see-through" for pedestrians and were putting in "look left" and "look right" markings.

The DfT is set to publish fresh guidance for local authorities on all types of pedestrian areas, which includes ensuring the risks of a layout misleading pedestrians are considered.

A spokesman said: "The guidance will be published later this year and all councils should apply it to their own roads."

Stuart Reid, from TfL, said he was "glad to see that the Department for Transport are revising their planning guidance".

"We know that a disproportionate number of serious injuries and fatalities on London's roads occur at junctions and we will continue to make improvements to keep Londoners safe."